Silent Night

For years, I have loved the hymn "Silent Night" above all other Christmas songs.  Don't get me wrong, there are many songs out there that move me, give me chills or get me in the holiday spirit.  But something about "Silent Night" has always been special.

This past Sunday, we sang it as a congregation for the closing hymn at church.  I had noticed at the beginning of the meeting that people were not really singing or if they were, not with much enthusiasm or volume even though were were singing an upbeat Christmas hymn.

But for the closing hymn, I observed a phenomenon that I have noticed many times over the years.  When we sang "Silent Night" there were many more singing and while the volume hadn't changed drastically, the mood had.  There was a reverence in the tone of the singing.  There is a magic in that hymn that seems to touch the heartstrings of those who sing it.  I tried my best to keep from getting choked up, but by the third verse, the tears were flowing freely.  I've never been an overly emotional person.  Whether it's the post-baby hormones or not, that song always strikes a chord for me.  It makes me visualize the birth of our Savior.  I see Mary cradling her Son, much like the photo (also one of my favorites) in this post.  "Silent Night, Holy Night, Son of God, Love's Pure Light."

Now where does the tradition come in?  Hearing this song and being so far from family reminded me of a tradition I learned about years ago.  One family I know who has many adult traditions has one that I thought was a great one.  In this day and age, people don't always live close to family.  So this mother started a tradition that is simple and meaningful to her family.  At 8 pm (in whatever time zone the mother lives in) the children stop wherever they are and whatever time it is for them for a few minutes to sing "Silent Night" as a family.  That way, in those moments, the family knows that they are all united together in their hearts.  

What a simple, inexpensive but touching tradition!

Easter is quickly approaching!

Easter is a great time of year.  Flowers are blooming, kids are anticipating a week off of school, and guess who's coming to town?  The Easter Bunny, of course. 

So how do you celebrate the joys of the basket full of goodies and the bunny's return without taking away from the spirit of the real reason for celebrating Easter?  EASY!  You have two different celebrations.

Growing up, my parents had made a deal with the Easter Bunny.  He was very respectful of the fact that we were LDS and that Easter Sunday was supposed to be spent with family and close friends as well as attending our Sunday worship to honor the Resurrection of the Savior.  So that we wouldn't miss out on the secular fun, he came to our house late Friday night/early Saturday morning.  We would take our empty Easter baskets and set them by the front door and head to bed.  (The Easter Bunny was of the same school of thought as Santa...he only came when you were fast asleep!).  Then on Saturday morning we would come down the stairs and the baskets were gone!  Mr. E. Bunny would take them, fill them with fun things like candy and little gifts and then hide them somewhere around the house.  It was our job to seek them out.  If we found the other siblings basket, we were not to tell.  They had to find it themselves.  Mr. E. Bunny put the eggs in our basket and we would dump the candy out and take turns hiding them all over the house or backyard.

At lunch, we would meet a couple other families at a nearby park for a BYOP (bring your own picnic) lunch and more Easter egg hunting.  Some of the parents would take us to the playground while the other parents hid the eggs.  That was a fun thing to do, especially since there were a lot of kids running around (at home it was just my younger brother and I).

Then on Sunday, we attended our church meetings as usual.  Easter Sunday services usually had a special musical program that brought an extra special spirit.  We would then come home and enjoy our traditional ham dinner.  With crescent rolls, of course!  Ending the day with a nice dinner was always a great wrap up to a fun, and fulfilling weekend.

A few years ago I came across an activity called Resurrection Easter Eggs that I have made a tradition each year with whatever Seminary or Sunday School class that I've had.  I will try to attach a copy of the activity.  It's basically a dozen plastic Easter eggs, each with a different symbol of the Garden of Gethsemane, Crucifixion and Resurrection inside with a brief summary of the symbol.  It's a great way to teach younger kids and bring the attention back to the Savior, especially on that Sunday.

So Easter was always a great holiday in my eyes.  Would love to hear any other ideas people have for Easter traditions!

Christmas is the Best!

I look forward to the Christmas season every year. I love the glow that Christmas trees and decorations create in the home. I love the colder weather. I love that people, for the most part, are a little bit kinder (assuming you're not shopping on Black Friday). One of the traditions in our house is setting up 2 Christmas trees. One is our "pretty tree". The other, the "fun tree".

The pretty tree stems from my love for visiting places that are decked out for Christmas. I loved to see the "designer" trees that were more uniform in their colors and seemed to have themes. Years ago I found the ribbon I used on our tree and fell in love! It's got an iridescent sheen to it and if you look at it from one angle, it's a true Christmas green and from another angle it is red. The ornaments have changed over the years as I've found new ones or new ideas. I got the idea to put colored "icicle" streamers inside glass ball ornaments. They shimmer in the lights and add another dimension of color and sparkle. To pay homage to the reason for the season, the only ornaments that are not balls are the stars. Crystal-looking stars in the shape of the Star of Bethlehem and gold stars. I love this tree, so much so, that I've kept it this way for at least 10 years, changing little but the balls.

"Pretty" Tree

Then there's the "Fun Tree". This tree has a snowman head for a topper and houses our collection of ornaments. There are some pretty elements to help give it a cohesive look, but overall, it's a display of our years together. When we travel, instead of looking for souvenirs to clutter our shelves, we search for ornaments. Each year we also buy a family ornament and one for Jayden. That way when he leaves the nest and settles his own, he will have ornaments chronicling his life. When it's time to pull out the Christmas decorations each year, it's fun to pull out all these ornaments and relive the memories behind them. I must admit, I write somewhere on them the year and/or where, who or how we got them. My memory is not what it used to be as most people's. I don't want to forget so I write in the most inconspicuous place I can.

"Fun" Tree

This year's craft project was these reindeer ornaments made from paint-stirrer sticks. Jeremy found that Sherwin Williams was the most cooperative. They gave him 36 for free! Now before you go thinking I'm super creative, don't. I copied the idea from an ornament given to me next year. That's how I get most of my ideas. I liked the overall elements of the gift but as always, I have to put my little spin on it. The original had a wreath around the neck, but I couldn't find mini-wreath's I liked so I had to improvise. But here's this year's finished product.

A Time to Be Thankful

Here are some cute ideas of daily activities for the month of November to make it an especially grateful month!  If you want to see the original post, go to:  http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-countdown

Another fun Halloween "Trick"

I saw a picture of these fun finger foods online and figured out my way of doing it:

6 boiled eggs
approx 1 tbsp honey mustard (to taste really)
approx 2 tbsp Miracle Whip (again to taste but enough to bind)
sliced black olives (cheaper to buy whole and slice yourself)
paprika
blue food coloring
red food coloring

After slicing eggs in half and removing yokes to a small bowl, take a fine tipped paint brush and use red food coloring to paint veins onto the whites of the eggs. Combine yokes with approx 5 drops of blue food coloring with honey mustard and Miracle Whip.  Mix until desired consistency.  Spoon into sturdy plastic storage bag and cut tip to pipe into eggs.  Pipe into eggs then sprinkle with paprika and top with a slice of black olive.

It doesn't take much more effort than just making deviled eggs but adds some fun to the Halloween spread.

Halloween--"Tricky Halloween Treats"

One of my favorite Halloween memories was the dinner my mom would make for us before we'd go out trick-or-treating.  As you know, kids are so excited to get their candy-gathering on that they sometimes don't really want to stop to eat dinner.  But my mom found a way around that.  She would make what she called "Tricky Halloween Treats".  I apologize for poor photo quality, but my camera's dead so all I had was my cell phone. 

The recipe is below and couldn't be easier. *If you want to sneak in some extra nutrition, finely chop up fresh spinach.  They'll never know!* 

1 pkg Pillsburry Grand biscuits  (I use the flaky ones)
1 lb ground beef (lean is good!)
1 small onion finely diced
1 cup shredded cheese
ketchup (enough to moisten meat mixture slightly)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
Green, red and orange food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven according to biscuit package directions.    Take 4 biscuits and put them on cookie sheet.  Brown ground beef with onion.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Drain and add to mixing bowl.  Add cheese (spinach if desired) and ketchup.  *you don't want the mixture soggy, just enough ketchup to lightly coat meat. 

Roll or kneed out the biscuits to make them flat and somewhat pumpkin-shaped.  Scoop about 1/8 to 1/4 cup mixture in the center of the 4 biscuits. 

Top with the remaining biscuits and seal edges with a fork. 

Cut small triangle eyes, nose and a mouth to make it look like a jack-o-lantern.  Add a small amount of water to egg to make an egg wash.  Add a drop of red and yellow food coloring if you want to make it look more orange-like.  Brush the pockets with egg wash and bake according to directions.

It's a fun treat that my husband and I have done every year, even before we had our son.  It's fun for kids and adults who still enjoy a kid-palette!

Christmas is Around the Corner

So here's a fun tradition that was started in my days in Placentia and I have decided to continue on wherever I live.  A few of my lady-friends that I had worked with on different church projects.  It was a FUN group of women but I find this activity is also a great way to get to know ladies in your area.  Basically all I do is organize a potluck that is an Ugly Ornament Exchange.  Everyone hunts for an ornament they deem ugliest and wrap it and we do a white elephant/stealing exchange.  It's fun and most of the ornaments make a good conversation piece on your Christmas tree.  The photo is of the first ornament I ever got and I LOVE it.  She's missing bells and completely quirky but most of all, I have great memories of the night I acquired her.  And isn't that really what holiday traditions are all about?